Fiber-drier



(No Model:)

F. G. 8a A. C. SARGENT."

FIBER DRIER.

Patented June 26, 1894.

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FREDERICK e. SARGENT PATENT OFFICE.

AND ALLAN o. SARGENI, on GRANITEVILLE,

MASSACHUSETTS.

FIBER- DRIER.

SPEGIFICATICSN forming part of Letters Patent No. 521,824, dated June26, 1894.

Application filed January 6, 1 894- Serial No. 495,933. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that We, FREDERICK G. SAR- GENT and ALLAN O. SARGENT, ofGraniteville, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fiber-Driers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to machines for dry ing wool and other fibers, andconsists in certain new and useful constructions and combinations ofvariousparts of the same substantially as hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the drawings:-Figure 1 is a side elevation, showing shaft connectionsand indicating the interior traveling screen aprons by broken lines.Fig. 2 is a top plan view, the top being partly broken away to show theinterior and omitting the belt between pulleys 22 and 23. Fig. 3 is atransverse vertical section on the line AB of Fig. 1.

1 is the frame of the drier, 2 the boarding or casing, and 3 is a hingeddoor in the top. This door is or may be the only opening into the drierexcept the opening for admission and withdrawal of the fiber. The drierhas two compartments, D and H, which are of the same height but not ofthe same length; the drying chamber, D, being very long to accommodatethe screens, while the heating chamber, H, being intended to connect thetop and bottom of the drying chamber and form a conduit therebetween, ishardly longer than it is wide. These chambers are separated by theupright lengthwise partition, 4, which has an opening, 5, near its topand an opening, 6, near its bottom. Opposite one of these openings,preferably the lower one, as shown,and close to it, is placed a fan orblower, 7, driven by the belt, 32, running from some countershaft over apulley, 33, on the end of the shaft of the blower, that shaft beingjournaled in the casing of the drier and projecting through it.

8, 8, is a coil of steam pipes, placed in the heating chamber H in theusual manner.

The operation of the above described parts is quite simple. Let the door3 be closed and the fan 7 be set running was to blow air from theheating chamber into the drying chamber. This air finds escape throughthe opening 5 back into the heating chamber, only to be driven againthrough the drying chamber, and so on indefinitely. This circuaprons inthe drying chamber, as shown, and

they are of the endless kindand arranged in a perpendicularv series,each delivering its fiber upon the one below it, and the lowest onebearing the fiber out of the drier. A similar carrier, 37, delivers thefiber upon the top screen apron. The aprons 9,10 and 11, as shown, runover rollers 12, 13, 14., 15, 16, 17, the first four journaled'at eachend in the casing of the drier and the last two in brackets, 60, 61,projecting therefrom, and are provided with pulleys '21, 22, 23, 62, 63,64:, for driving them. The pulley 21 on the farther end of the roller 17is belted to some countershaft. The pulley 23 on the nearer end of thesame is belted to the pulley, '22, on the end of the rollerld. Motion isimparted from this latter roller through the screen apron 11, throughthe roller 13 and pulley 63, and by the belt 18, to the pulley 62 andits roller 12, thus driving the screen apron 10. The belting as shownwill cause the screen aprons 9 and 11 to move in the same direction,while the screen apron 10 will move in the con trary direction. Abovethe upper screen apron, but below the hole 5 into the drying chamber, isstretched a fixed screen, 65, which prevents the lighterpart of thefiber from being carried through the hole 501' out of the door 3 by thecurrent of airfrom the blower.

The carrier 37, before mentioned, consists of a series of slats, 66,attached at the ends and middle to endless strips, 67, of flexiblematerial running over the rollers 68 and 69, the roller 68 being drivenby a belt, 70, running to a pulley 71 on the end of its shaft from apulley 72 on the shaft of the roller 17.

through the drier in the usual manner, being deposited upon the carrier37 and borne by that into the drying chamber and let fall upon thescreen apron 11. This apron carries it across the chamber and deliversit upon the screen apron 10, which brings it back and lets it fall uponthe screen apron 9, which bears it once more the length of the chamberand delivers it outside.

All the parts and operations as thus far described are of the usual kindand not novel.

The novelty and advantage which constitute our invention lie in animproved meth- 0d of conducting the currents of air through the dryingchamber. Ordinarily, the current of air from the blower will have topenetrate the screen apron 9 and the screen apron 10 and the screenapron 11, before it can escape through the opening 5 or the door 3. Ifthese aprons are thickly covered with fiber, the circulation will begreatly retarded or wholly stopped, and the air, after forcing its waythrough the screen apron 9 will flow along and escape upward through thespace between the roller 15 and the casing of the chamber; thence alongthe surface of the fiber on the screen apron 10 and upward again betweenthe roller 13 and the casing and through the fixed screen, 65, and backinto the heating chamber II. Thus, while the upper surface of the fiberis well dried, its lower surface remains soggy; because the body of theair between the upper and lower parts of each screen apron is retainedthere by the lower part, and, after becoming moisture laden, doesnothing toward drying the fiber above it. To remedy this defect andsupply fresh air to the under side of the fiber, we provide conduits 75,76, 77, on the outside of the drying chamber (so as not to interferewith the operation of the screen aprons) connecting the space betweenthe upper and lower portions of each screen apron with the spacebetweenthe portions of the screen apron next above it, and the space betweenthe portions of the top screen apron with the space above the fixedapron. Thus the dead air under the fiber is put into motionand renewedand caused to dry the under surface of the fiber as thoroughly as theupper surface is dried. These conduits are, however, not placed in thesame perpendicular line, for then the escape of air would be too rapidand the fiber each side of the conduits would not be dried at all, butthey are placed alternately to right and left, as the drawings show, anda winding way is thus provided, so that the air must flow along theunder surface of each layer of fiber before finding an escape. Thearrows in the drawings fly with the air currents.-

We do not limit ourselves to any particular number of conduits, orscreen aprons, but

We claim as new and of our invention- 1. The combination of a dryingchamber, two or more screen aprons within it, an inlet below the lowestscreen apron, an outlet 5 above the highest screen apron, independentconduits from the space under each screen apron to the space under thescreen apron next above, each space having the conduits that opentherefrom and thereinto at opposite ends thereof, and means forintroducing air through the inlet and withdrawing it through the outlet;

2. The combination of a drying chamber, two or more endless travelingscreen aprons within it, an inlet below the lowest screen apron, anoutlet 5 above the highest screen apron, a fixed screen between thetraveling screen aprons and the outlet, independent conduits from thespace between the upper and lower parts of each screen apron to thespace between the upper and lower parts of the screen apron next aboveand from the space between the upper and lower parts of the upper screenapron to the space between the fixed screen and the outlet, each spacehaving the conduits that open therefrom and thereinto at opposite endsthereof, and means for introducing air through the inlet and withdrawingit through the outlet.

FREDERICK G. SARGENT. ALLAN O. SARGEN'IV. Witnesses:

HARRIET R. EVANS, HERBERT V. IIILDRETH.

